S4E24: 10 Reasons You Should Have a Bucket List

A bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die. It can be anything from visiting a new country to learning a new skill. Why is this important? Listen to learn all about it!

In this episode:

What Makes a Bucket List a Good Idea?

“Learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.” (The Bucket List). Tomorrow comes for all of us. It’s what we do in-between that makes us who we are.

Creating a bucket list can help you get in touch with your values and remember your goals. There is scientific support for the idea that developing a bucket list is an effective activity; not only for the achievement of lifetime goals, but for the ultimate experience of having a more fulfilling life. Bucket lists are especially useful for keeping our goals at the forefront of our mind. We share how in this episode with several examples and ideas to get you started.

The Bucket List

Everyone Dies Theater

The film The Bucket List was released in 2007 starring Jack Nicolson as Edward Cole, a corporate billionaire and Morgan Freeman as Carter Chambers a working-class mechanic. Both have terminal cancer and meet while undergoing chemotherapy. During their treatment, they have plenty of time to get to know each other. So, for our first half Everyone Dies presents a scene from The Bucket List with Charlie playing Edward and Marianne playing Carter.

A painting of Chock full o' Nuts cans on top of Mount Everest, from the final scene in "The Bucket List".  Learn all about cremation options in Season 2 Episode 43
The final scene in the movie features the cremains of the main characters Edward and Carter, finally making it to the top of Mt Everest. We feature more about the movie in this episode: S2E43: Everything You Need to Know About Cremation

If you haven’t seen the movie, be sure to. The lessons the two men learn at the end of life are valuable to all of us, at any place in our journey.

10 Reasons You Should Have a Bucket List

It’s common to have a list of things that we want to do or places we want to go. But, during different times in our lives we may be too busy with school, work, or children (or all 3) to do them. Being a hopeful species, we do believe in “one day” and hope for the time, money, and health to live out our dreams. The list is those things we want to do before we die, before we ‘kick the bucket’ thus the term, having a bucket list.

You don’t need to have a terminal illness or to be dying to have a bucket list. You don’t even need to call it a bucket list, it could be a life list, a life plan, or a dream list. The point being, write out your list and add or subtract based on how your dreams and interests change. A bucket list is an aspirational list of wants that your soul needs.

But the truth is, your bucket list should be a collection of life goals you work towards every single day. The list should be exciting, fun, fulfilling, bring you joy, excite you and rejuvenate you. As far as we know, you have one life, and it’s all yours.

A thought cloud for bucket list ideas and questions to ask yourself from The Goal Chaser
The Goal Chaser has some great ideas to inspire you – visit the website here.

When creating a bucket list that you’ll accomplish, it’s important to think about all areas of life. This means travel, home, relationships, career, finance and family. Your bucket list should be something that inspires you and helps you strengthen your bond with others. A bucket list is also meant to help you live your best life possible. Keep your list where you can see it, to remind yourself of your goals.

Listen as Marianne shares 10 thoughts to inspire you to develop your bucket list and start crossing them off as you make your dreams come true. And as promised, here’s a few resources to get you started:

References:

Resources:

Recipe of the Week

To keep with our “bucket” theme, we bring you Bucket Cake. In large clear glass bowl or bucket, crumble a layer of yellow cake into bottom. Layer with strawberry mix and Cool Whip. Sound good? Get the whole recipe here.



From Everyone Dies:

Everyone Dies: and yes, it is normal!

Everyone Dies (and yes, it is normal) is a story about a young boy named Jax who finds something special on the beach where he and his grandpa Pops are enjoying a wonderful day. Pops helps Jax understand that death is a normal part of life. This book provides an age appropriate, non-scary, comfortable way to introduce the important topic of mortality to a preschool child. Its simple explanation will last a lifetime. Autographed copies for sale at: www.everyonediesthebook.com. Also available at Amazon

Mourning Jewelry
mourning jewelry earings

We offer a way to memorialize your loved one or treasured pet with a piece of handmade jewelry.  When people comment on it and the wearer can say for example “I received this when my mother died” which opens the conversation about this loss. All our jewelry is made with semi-precious stones and beads, vintage beads, and pearls. You can choose between earrings or bracelets and the color family. Learn More

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